Gan (left) with his drawing and Susan Phua, a GMD lecturer

Gan Soon Bing won again in the Tanjong Heritage 2009 art competition. Last year he won first prize in the watercolour category for his pointillism rendition of a Chinese temple. This year he wins the second prize for his uniquely angled pencil drawing of fishermen in Port Dickson in the charcoal/pencil category. Gan completed his diploma in Graphic and Multimedia Design this year and is now working with an advertising agency. Not bad Gan!

MUFY Top Scorer Chew Weng Chuen (right) with Lee Weng Keng, CEO, Education & Healthcare Division, the Sunway Group

For his outstanding performance, Weng Chuen received the Monash Excellence Award at the recent MUFY Graduation Night and this makes him the ninth winner from MUFY Sunway out of the ten times that the award has been presented. Weng Chuen has been awarded a full scholarship to read engineering at Monash University, Sunway campus.

In the same exams, MUFY at Sunway clinched twenty Monash Subject Awards. The Monash Subject Awards are presented to the students who score the highest mark among all the providers of MUFY in each of the subjects offered.

Nine students qualified for Monash University entrance scholarships to pursue undergraduate studies at the Australian university.

Dr Alan Finkel speaking to Sunway University College MUFY students

Recently, the Chancellor of Monash University, Australia, Dr Alan Finkel paid a visit to Sunway University College. During the visit he spoke to a packed auditorium of MUFY students, on how the university plans to move forward.

Mark Ng Kok Yew, Alumni of Sunway University College

In 2001, Mark Ng Kok Yew was in the Monash University Foundation Year (MUFY), a pre-university programme at Sunway College before it became Sunway University College. He then went to do an engineering degree at the Monash University, Sunway campus.

In just eight years, he made news, when he became the first graduate from Monash University campus in Bandar Sunway to be conferred a PhD in engineering.

Mark is currently an engineering lecturer at Monash University Sunway Campus and is part of the Robotics, Automation and Manufacturing (RAM) Research Group. He is actively conducting his research in the area of Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI). He recently presented his research findings at international conferences, such as the 2007 International Conference on Control Applications (IEEE) in Singapore and the 2008 International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) in Seoul, Korea.

“I would very much like to see my theoretical work evolve and be implemented onto practical applications, with hope that it could improve the stability, safety and also the reliability of the systems,” he explained.

Describing his achievement as a fulfilment of his childhood dream in another form, he said with a chuckle. “I’ve always wanted to become a doctor. Although I am not a medical doctor now, but being addressed as Dr. Mark Ng sort of fulfils my childhood dream in a way. I feel truly blessed indeed!”

A MUFY lecturer at Sunway University College, Helen James, who taught him English, has this to say about Dr. Ng.

“Mark was a pleasure to teach. He was a teacher’s dream student – someone with an inquiring mind, hard-working and very, respectful. With such an attitude towards his studies and people in general, it really is no surprise that he has reached such heights.”

Advising younger people, Dr. Ng said: “It’s not easy to make a choice sometimes, but I guess I made a right decision when I chose the MUFY programme because it provided me with the foundation that I needed for my undergraduate degree at Monash University. The curriculum was very well organized and I did not face any major difficulties in my studies, transiting from my foundation year at Sunway to Monash.”

“Sunway University College is an institution which offers great facilities and with impressive students academic achievements. Most of all, it is the only institution which offers the MUFY programme that fits well into the undergraduate programme at Monash” he added.

Qu Hsueh Ming at Oxford

The Sun-U A-Level Programme is proud to announce the emergence from its ranks of yet another world beater!

First, in June 2006, there was Qu Hsueh Ming the pre-university graduate par excellence with a perfect 5A showing in the renowned Cambridge A-Level Examination.

Then, in September 2006, there was Hsueh Ming the Oxford-bound soon-to-be scholar of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), with impressive oratorical skills to boot, ready to mingle with Britain’s best.

Today, there is Qu Hsueh Ming, B.A. (Oxon) in PPE, First Class. And deservedly honoured by the famed Oxford University as the crème de la crème of its Philosophy adherents.

Kudos to Hsueh Ming for his outstanding world-class performance! Kudos also to the dedicated team of A-Level educators who set him on his journey there!

The WMU Presidential Scholars (except student in front row, third from left) with WMU staffs Cathleen Fuller (6th from right), Dr Craig Kaml (5th from right) and Mr Kirk Sundling (2nd from left)

Apart from WMU, two other US universities awarded scholarships to Sunway ADTP students. Anjuli Rabindranath was a recipient of a scholarship from Illinois Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering. The scholarship is valued at US$12,000 per annum. Alvin Tan is studying business administration on a Community College Leadership Award valued at US10,000 per annum, from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. This scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated leadership ability through co-curricular activities.

Some other students are to be congratulated too for transferring to good US universities which are well-known for the programs they offer. Ahmad Safianu Saleh from Nigeria is pursuing aviation at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, a top aviation university in the US. Sean Shao Chi Yap, (who had deferred his studies from an earlier intake) is pursuing film production at Chapman University in Orange County, California. Lau Jann-Lim, who was Vice-President of the ADTP Student Committee transferred to New York University located in the “Big Apple” which is New York City. Lau is thrilled that New York University is 5 minutes away from Wall Street and he is majoring in Finance.

Joanne Ooi Yuen Kei, 19, was ecstatic upon winning first prize in the Malaysia TrustMark Logo Competition 2009 organised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia (MITI).

Joanne’s classmate, Kenry Tang Tze Lye clinched the third prize in the same competition. Joanne shared “I was very surprised but thankful for my win. I would like to thank my lecturers for their guidance and help throughout my course. Without them I would not have been able to win this prize”. Joanne plans to use her prize money to finance part of the cost of her degree studies in the near future.

Other students, Vanessa Boey and Christine Heng joined Phuah in the Dream Team Challenge and won bronze. The challenge involved kitchen, restaurant and bar service which required mixing a cocktail, tossing a salad, carving a chicken, flambéing a crepe, servicing a wine and a specialty coffee.

Head Chef Patrick Siau won bronze for his intricate sugarwork in Pastry Showpiece and Cake Decoration and Chef Lecturer Chong Wei Tzeh won bronze for his Main Course Hot Cooking entry.

“The students and staff had put in great effort and passion which came through in their work. Although they did not win gold, Sunway University College fielded many representatives in various categories of the competition. They did their very best and we are proud of them” said Ms Anisha Chai, Head of the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management at Sunway University College.

Ooi Yu Min and Sim Hui Wen received the coveted Cambridge International Fellowship Top 3 in the World awards for Mathematics from Mr Ng Kim Huat, Cambridge International Examinations Regional Representative for Malaysia.

These awards are only given to Cambridge International Fellowships Centres and Sunway University College being one, earned this honour since 2005 in recognition of its excellent track record of high achieving students. Another A-Level student, Uranbileg Enkhturshin, from Mongolia, won First Place in the world in the University of Waterloo Euclid Math Contest 2009.

The A-Level programme was established at Sunway in 1987. Sunway University College is one out of about 40 Fellowship Centres in the world, and is one of four in Malaysia among the more than 1,100 Cambridge centres worldwide.

Boasting an annual turnover exceeding RM75 million, Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd is a holding company that owns some of the popular casual dining restaurants in Malaysia like The Manhattan FISH MARKET, Tony Roma’s, London Fish Tales and TOKYO.g.

LEFT: George Ang (right) was working as a Pizza Hut delivery boy in 1991, while studying. RIGHT: Outing with fellow college students to the National Monument

The 37-year-old from Melaka is both Group Managing Director and co-founder of Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd, who struck it big in the F&B industry despite not being a cook himself.

In fact, it takes a lot of sweat and hard work, and some inspiration, to make it to where he is today. His first exposure in the F&B industry began when he was merely seventeen, and still studying at the former Sunway College building located at PJ New Town, where he had worked as a parttime delivery boy for Pizza Hut while studying.

“It was then that my passion developed in the F&B industry,” he told an audience of about 100 students and staff of Sunway recently, where he spoke as a Distinguished Entrepreneur Speaker.

“While studying in Australia, I was also working at several established restaurants to partially fund my own education,” he said. “I have worked as a cook, a kitchen hand, a waiter and even a dishwasher. Therefore, I am not ashamed even today, if you happen to visit one of the restaurants under my care, you may just be lucky enough to have me, the waiter, serving you!”

On being an Entrepreneur

It took a dream to become an entrepreneur – especially a successful one!

“I always dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur (although not necessarily in the food business) and for the first seven years of my career when I was involved in the corporate banking, I was always reading and exploring what business to get myself into,” he recalled. “There are always the ups and downs in being an entrepreneur, but I have always enjoyed the ride and not regretted anything.” Ang started his business when he was still a bachelor boy. There were fewer commitments then, and the fear of failing was much lesser.

In retrospect, he admitted: “If you asked me to start all over again today, maybe I may think twice! If I had the opportunity to reverse the clock, I would have chosen to get married earlier, start my business when I was younger and make better plans!”

Having become a successful entrepreneur, Ang encouraged students to be more enterprising. “Seriously, if you are aspiring to be an entrepreneur, you first must enjoy the process, instead of thinking of becoming a millionaire overnight. To me, it is the process of learning and to pick one self up after falling that is more fun,” he said.

His two other close friends, Dr. Jeffrey Goh and Dickson Low, joined him to start the first Manhattan FISH MARKET brand outlet in MidValley Megamall in 2002. Within the span of seven years, the Group has grown by leaps and bounds.

In 2005, his company was nominated for the Golden Bull Award as one of the emerging SMEs; at the same time, he managed to secure the Master Franchise for the popular American casual dining restaurant chain famous for its ribs and steaks called Tony Roma’s. In 2008, the Manhattan FISH MARKET was awarded the winner of SMEs Best Brand in Asia Pacific for Western Seafood category. His motto has always been: “Failure is a step closer to success; therefore, never ever give up at the first sign of failure! If you have that attitude, you will somehow succeed.”

The former old boy of Gajah Berang Secondary School Melaka does not forget his roots, especially people who have made strong impressions in his teenage years.

His time at Sunway

“You always remember the people who made an impact on your life,” he told us. He attributes whatever knowledge he now has in Accounting to one accounting lecturer, Mrs Lim, whom he describes as being “very strict.” Other names like First Year Economics lecturer, Ms Wong and English Literature lecturer, Ms Siva, still stick on his mind until today. In fact, he still remembers a famous line from his Mathematics teacher, Mr. Manaf, who used to say that, `life can be much more interesting than just Mathematics!’

After spending two years at the then Sunway College, Ang then left for Perth to pursue his Second and Third Year undergrad studies and finally graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (major in Finance & Accounting) in 1993.

When he first joined the then Sunway College in 1990 to do his TEE (now known as Australian Matriculation), he was a young man hailing from Melaka. “It was a huge learning curve for me. My first impressions were that people seemed more complicated, well-to-do, and showy,” he said.

Gradually, he began to love student life. His favourite hang out was at the snooker centre across the old Sunway College building in PJ New Town. “There were quite a lot of distractions to our studies, compared to the campus at Bandar Sunway that we have today. Almost every weekend we would end up going to DV8, a disco near the college for dance and drinks.”

Swimming Ahead

The Manhattan FISH MARKET brand is gaining popularity. Recently, another outlet was set up in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

With the aggressive growth, Ang expects Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd will hit a turnover of RM100 million for the financial year ending 2009. The company currently owns 100% of MFM Restaurants Sdn Bhd which operates The Manhattan FISH MARKET restaurants in Malaysia. It also owns 100% of MFM Restaurants Pte Ltd, which operates The Manhattan FISH MARKET restaurants in Singapore, besides owning 50% of MFM Restaurants (Thailand) Co. Ltd which operates The Manhattan FISH MARKET restaurants in Thailand.

In 2005, the company set up Grandpolitan Sdn Bhd (with 100% equity) to operate the Master Franchise of Tony Roma’s in Malaysia. Revenue Valley now owns 100% share of Sushi Groove Sdn Bhd, which operates TOKYO.g restaurants in Malaysia.

“I hope to continue building great retail brands, which again may not be necessarily in the food business. Despite an accounting background, I enjoy reading Marketing books more than any other literature, and recently, I had a rare opportunity to meet Mr Philip Kotler, the Father of Modern Marketing himself!”

As far as Ang is concerned, he is prepared to face any challenges in bringing his business to new frontiers. For young entrepreneurs, he advised: “If you have to swim against the tide, it’s better than to give up and end up in the fish market.”

The title of their creative work was “Through the eyes of the Artist”. Their concept reflected the great master paintings of horses from primitivism to post-modernism covering the works of artists like Carvaggio, Peter Paul Reuben, Picasso and others.

Left to right (centre) students Kenry Tang, Laura Viviana Acero Collazos, Sharmila Shresta, Lyana Shamsudin, Amir Ali with their lecturers Joseph Fernz (left) and Nasarudin Ahmad (right)

The expression of the painting was as free as the movement of a horse on an open field, wild yet beautiful and controlled.

The competition was organised in conjunction with the Selangor Turf Club International Racing Carnival 2009.